Russell George: Thank you, First Minister, for your answer. I certainly welcome that schools have reopened as of yesterday for younger children. A concern raised with me is that school uniform seems to be classed as a non-essential item and is unable to be purchased. Shoe shops are closed, meaning that children cannot be measured to get approximate-sized shoes. So, what advice can you provide to parents in...
Russell George: Can I thank the Minister for his statement today and the advanced copy, as always? I think, from my perspective, Minister, any additional support for Welsh businesses has to be welcomed, so, certainly, from my perspective, I and colleagues welcome the additional support for the Development Bank of Wales. There are large elements of what you said that I can agree with. Clearly, I'm going to...
Russell George: Can I thank the Deputy Minister for his statement? I agree with the Deputy Minister; I think the pandemic has strengthened the case for the foundational economy, for the reasons he outlined. Fifteen months ago, Deputy Minister, you said that you would be building the road as you travel when it comes to the experimental approach to the foundational economy. Back then, in November 2019, which...
Russell George: Come on—[Inaudible.]
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Minister talks about action; well, the farming community, Minister, want action from you. Now, the only area that I can agree that you spoke to this afternoon, Minister—and Jenny Rathbone—was that we all have a role in improving water quality. That's correct—all of us do, businesses and farmers included, and farmers accept that role. But any...
Russell George: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I met with Montgomery Young Farmers last night, making many of the points, I think, that Paul Davies and Angela did—Angela Burns made—in terms of the health and safety implications of rushing in terms of managing that slurry and the timetable involved. In coming to a conclusion, Deputy Presiding Officer, I urge you, Minister, to rethink about this. I'd urge...
Russell George: —and support our motion—
Russell George: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, can I also say that it's been five years of bringing forward questions to you during spokespersons' questions and can I thank you, in the same way that Helen Mary did, in terms of the constructive way that we've worked together, especially during the pandemic? I think that's what the public would expect us to do and I thank you for that. With that, Minister, I'm...
Russell George: Thank you for your answers. Minister, in terms of that last question I asked you, you addressed the issue in terms of the M4 relief road. That was a commitment in the 2016 Labour manifesto, which, of course, you were the author of. But I've got this manifesto in front of me now and I can see it says, 'We will deliver fast broadband to every property in Wales'. Your Deputy Minister continually...
Russell George: Thank you, Minister. You've skilfully shifted the answer there away from the questions that I asked, pointing towards some of the areas that were not delivered in the 2016 manifesto. In terms of the UK Government's announcements today and over the last couple of days, we've seen huge sums of money announced by the Chancellor that will be able to support the economic growth here in Wales from...
Russell George: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's intention to revise planning policy in Wales? OQ56384
Russell George: Thank you for your answer, Minister. Last week, the Minister for the environment published the Welsh Government's 'Beyond Recycling' strategy to make the circular economy in Wales a reality. Now, within that strategy, the Welsh Government says it will place a moratorium on any future large-scale energy-from-waste developments. Now, I very much welcome this. This is something, as you know, I...
Russell George: Diolch yn fawr. I would like to congratulate the Wales Air Ambulance on its twentieth anniversary, which took place on 1 March. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this life-saving service over the years for their commitment, enthusiasm and their dedication to the people of Wales. The charity's founder and first chair of trustees was the late Robert Palmer, and, from his vision, the...
Russell George: Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's very timely, I think, that we are debating this report today, as it's a year ago that we had the last 'normal' week—I say 'normal' in inverted commas—for most people in Wales. Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, the World Health Organization officially described COVID-19 as a pandemic, and in the following fortnight, certain businesses...
Russell George: So, this report comprehensively examines how recovery should look across the committee's portfolio and, in the short term, we now would like to see and draw Members' attention to three key areas, and they are: one, continuing support for hard-hit sectors; two, using reconstruction funding to reinvigorate and retool our economy; and three, avoiding a scarred generation of young people. So,...
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I first of all echo Helen Mary Jones's comments in thanking the many people who contributed to our report in terms of oral evidence and written evidence? It's a huge report, and I always, I think, in any debate, thank our clerking and research team, but particularly on this occasion, because the report had to be done with speed because otherwise our...
Russell George: I move the motion in my name, Deputy Llywydd. This report was published last week. The implications of radical changes in how we live and work are something that the next Welsh Government is going to have to get to grips with, and hopefully, our report will help in that regard. First of all, we wanted to know whether the Government's 30 per cent target for remote working is achievable, and...
Russell George: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I was in Newtown during the lunch break today buying a light bulb, and I was in a shop with my jeans on and my trainers and a constituent recognised me, even though I had my mask on, and thought I was having a leisurely stroll and not doing my job. I said, 'No, no, I'm out buying a light bulb; I need the light bulb to go back to my office to plug in,...
Russell George: Thank you, Llywydd. I think you were just cut off the first time then. Thank you. Can I ask, Trefnydd, for some input, please, from you? The Welsh Government made a statement last week, a press release via the First Minister, with regard to two new woodlands being created, one in north Wales and one in south Wales. As the Welsh Government press release says, it's hoped that they will be...
Russell George: Can I thank the Deputy Minister for the briefing that he provided to myself and other opposition spokespeople last week and thank his officials as well for that? I do have some specific questions, obviously, about the strategy, but I'll make some general points, as, of course, this is the end of this Government's particular term.
